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China Economics Trend Watching

Living in China: Shanghai’s air falls below standard

Shanghai has failed to meet a proposed air quality standard for the past five years, according to the city’s environment watchdog […]

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China Trend Watching

Living in China: Major cities suffering months of hazy days

Shanghai and Beijing are among a number of major Chinese cities which experienced “hazy” days for up to half of last year […]

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China Consumer Behavior Economics Trend Watching

China, Socialism & Consumer Behavior: World’s top luxury brands compete to tap Chinese market

Prominent luxury brands are scrambling to get a slice of the competitive Chinese market. The 2011 Tianjin International Luxury Exhibition was held recently, right after the World Luxury Association WLA released its 2011 annual official report recently in Beijing […]

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China Economics Trend Watching

Architecture & Urban Planning in China: BBC highlights the rise of the Asian megacities

Three decades of sustained economic growth, concentrated along the booming coast, has lured millions from the impoverished Chinese countryside. This great migration – unprecedented in human history – has put 46 Chinese cities over the one million mark since 1992, out of a national total of 102 […]

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China Design Economics Readings Trend Watching

Shanghai World Expo: CHINA PAVILION

The Chinese national pavilion is the largest of its kind at the Expo and most expensive, costing an estimated US$220 million. The 63-meter high pavilion, the tallest structure at the Expo, is called “The Crown of the East,” as it is meant to resemble an ancient Chinese crown with its distinctive roof, made of traditional dougong or brackets, which date back more than 2,000 years […]

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China Consumer Behavior Trend Watching

China, Socialism & Consumer Behavior: U.S. destinations target affluent Chinese tourists

Hawaii, California and Las Vegas are among American tourist destinations vying fiercely for a vast and largely untapped new market segment: the Chinese tourist […]

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China Economics

Living in China: Privileges attached to the “Hukou” should be eliminated

Cai Fang, a senior researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recently criticized the current Hukou system as a main cause behind social inequality. He suggested the Chinese government scrap all privileges inherent in an urban Hukou as part its efforts to reform the Hukou system […]

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China Economics

Intellectual Property: U.S. claims victory in WTO complaint on China piracy, China vows copyright cooperation

The United States claimed victory recently in a groundbreaking World Trade Organization case against China for failing to protect and enforce copyrights and trademarks on a wide range of goods. ‘Today, a WTO panel found that a number of deficiencies in China’s IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) regime are incompatible with its WTO obligations,’ acting U.S. Trade Representative Peter Allgeier said in a statement. The International Intellectual Property Alliance, a coalition of U.S. music, movie, book and software industry groups, conservatively estimates that piracy in China costs them more than $3.7 billion in lost sales. The WTO ruling means China and other nations ‘can’t simply go through the motions’ of protecting intellectual property, but must provide effective results, Neil Turkewitiz, an executive vice president at the Recording Industry Association of America, said in a statement…

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China

Living in China: The number of Chinese cities reached 655

Since reform and opening up the urbanization of China has increased rapidly, with the number of cities in China reaching 655 by the end of 2007, an increase of 462 compared to 1978, according to a report released today by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS). The number of cities at prefecture-level and above has increased from 111 in 1978 to 287 in 2007.

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China Consumer Behavior Trend Watching

China, Socialism & Consumer Behavior: MP3 Player Sales Decreased 43.76% in the first half of 2008

According to the latest report of CCID Consulting, in the first half of 2008, China’s MP3 player market realized sales of about 2.5 million MP3 players and revenue of CNY1.223 billion (nearly 180 million US dollars), year-on-year decreases of 43.76% and 43.56%, respectively. Li Ying, a consultant from the consumer electronics industry research center of CCID Consulting, says that as the MP3 player markets in big Chinese cities are close to saturation, a negative growth began to appear in its sales in the first six months of 2008…